NER: Nanoscale Design of Aqueous Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Molecular Transducers for Biosensors

该项目正在开发基于导电聚苯胺（PANI）分子传感器的创新生物传感器，该传感器由功能化单壁碳纳米管增强。据推测，增强将导致传感器的导电性增加，从而降低新传感器的检测限，这将通过与系留抗原的结合事件检测微生物。该研究将评估这些方法是否会提高传感器的速度和灵敏度。对新材料的详细表征之后，将努力制造基于改进的材料导电性的功能性生物传感器。这种传感器在各种环境相关领域具有潜在的应用，包括水系统中的快速病原体检测，农业和食品安全评估用途以及国土安全。

This project is developing innovative biosensors based on a conductive polyaniline (PANI) molecular transducer reinforced with functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes. It is hypothesized that the reinforcement will result in increased electrical conductivity of the transducer, thus lowering detection limits of the new sensors, which will detect microorganisms via a binding event with tethered antigens. The study will evaluate whether these approaches will increase sensor speed and sensitivity. Detailed characterization of the new materials will be followed by efforts to manufacture functional biosensors based on the improved electrical conductivity of the material. Such sensors have potential applications in a wide variety of environmentally related fields, including rapid pathogen detection in aqueous systems, agricultural and food safety assessment uses, and homeland security.